Dhaka, December 21, 2025 — Bangladesh’s media and cultural sectors are reeling after a rapid sequence of arson and vandalism attacks that hit two of the country’s most influential newspapers and several of its best-known cultural organizations, sparking public alarm and intensifying scrutiny of the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
The assaults began late Thursday night, December 18, when crowds ransacked and set fire to the Dhaka offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in the Karwan Bazar area, where the attacks continued for hours without effective intervention by law enforcement.
Journalists and staff were trapped inside The Daily Star building for hours, with many scrambling to the rooftop as smoke filled stairwells and corridors, according to accounts from those present and contemporaneous media reports.
The next night, December 19, attackers set fire to the central office of Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, adding to fears that institutions associated with independent journalism and secular cultural practice are being systematically targeted.
The attacks have fueled public frustration over the lack of visible arrests or a clear public accounting of investigative progress, even as police say CCTV footage is being reviewed and investigations are ongoing.
Newspapers Halted as Staff Narrowly Escape
Prothom Alo said its office was subjected to a “deliberate and organised attack,” noting that journalists on duty were running the online portal and preparing the next day’s print edition when the building was vandalized and then set on fire. The paper said its employees were left unprotected and their lives placed at serious risk.
The damage forced Prothom Alo to miss its print edition for the first time in its 27-year history outside scheduled holidays and to suspend online operations for nearly 17 hours.
The Daily Star also suspended its print edition the following day for the first time in 33 years. During the attack, 28 journalists and staff members were trapped on the rooftop and were later rescued using cranes operated by Fire Service personnel.
“When they set fire to the building, the staff members inside could not escape. They went up to the rooftop and remained trapped for hours,” said consulting editor Kamal Ahmed, describing the ordeal.
Journalist Zyma Islam, who was inside the building at the time, sent messages as smoke spread through the structure, saying she was struggling to breathe as the fire intensified.
Although both newspapers have since resumed limited operations under emergency arrangements, management officials said full restoration will take time due to extensive damage to offices, printing facilities and digital infrastructure.
Government Response and Mounting Criticism
Yunus described the attacks on the two newspapers as an assault on independent journalism and expressed distress over the incidents in conversations with editors, according to official accounts. His press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, later wrote that he had received “frantic, tear-choked calls for help” during the attacks, adding that the events left him overwhelmed with shame.
Despite these statements, critics argue that condemnation without swift arrests risks normalizing violence against newsrooms and civil society organizations.
Several journalist unions and rights groups noted that the attacks unfolded in full public view for hours, were broadcast live across social media platforms, and yet failed to trigger timely preventive action, reinforcing perceptions of administrative paralysis rather than isolated lapses.
The attacks followed the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a political activist whose killing triggered protests in Dhaka. Those protests later escalated into assaults on high-profile targets, including media houses and cultural institutions.
Opposition figures and journalists’ unions argue that the attacks did not occur in a vacuum. They point to prior threats, public warnings and a broader pattern of mob violence since the political transition of 2024, raising concerns about intelligence failures and administrative paralysis.
Cultural Institutions Under Attack
Cultural organizations say the violence represents a direct challenge to Bangladesh’s secular and humanistic traditions.
On the night of December 18, attackers vandalized and looted Chhayanaut, damaging classrooms, smashing musical instruments and stealing electronic equipment from the six-storey complex in Dhanmondi.
In its coverage, Prothom Alo quoted Chhayanaut as saying that the institution would not be broken by the attack. The organization said it would recover through its own collective strength and resilience, emphasizing that Chhayanaut has always stood on the foundation of voluntary effort, self-reliance and commitment to cultural values.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki described the attack on Chhayanaut as a criminal act that ran counter to the spirit of the mass movement that brought political change in 2024, and pledged action against those responsible.
Udichi leaders said the torching of their central office the following night — after the first wave of attacks had already shocked the country — raised even more serious questions about prevention and state preparedness.
“Those who want to destabilize the country and push it backward are the ones who carried out this attack,” said Udichi leader Amit Ranjan Dey.
At a protest march, Udichi’s general secretary said their office had been vandalized, looted and burned in a manner similar to the attacks on Prothom Alo, The Daily Star and Chhayanaut, warning that the incidents represented a coordinated threat to freedom of expression and democratic rights.
Fire Service officials said multiple units responded to the Udichi blaze and managed to bring it under control within a short time.
A Wider Anxiety Over Shrinking Civic Space
Rights groups and political analysts say the coordinated nature of the attacks points to a dangerous erosion of state authority, with violent groups operating with increasing impunity during Bangladesh’s fragile political transition.
Since August 2024, when the Yunus-led interim government assumed power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, journalists and civil society actors have reported increasing pressure, restrictions and insecurity. Rights organizations have documented attacks on minorities, intimidation of media workers and limits on access to government institutions.
University of Dhaka professor Asif Shahan described the situation as the rise of “mob rule,” warning that restoring authority and accountability would be a defining challenge for the next phase of governance.
For now, Bangladesh’s press and cultural communities are left balancing emergency recovery with a deeper concern: whether the state can reassert basic security and deter repeat attacks before the next political flashpoint arrives.
